One Deepam Day a disciple wrote the following and laid it at the Feet of Sri Bhagavan with the request that he should write another verse showing the significance of the Beacon that is yearly lighted on the top of Arunachala.
SELF is the centre, e’en the Heart it is
That thus reveals itself, while intellect
And ego both bewail.
This the true meaning of Annamalai,
Amidst Brahma and Vishnu blazing bright,
Who languish because they don’t know the way
To realize Him.
The Hill Arunachala is identified with the spiritual heart of creation of God. This appeared to the Gods, Brahma and Vishnu as a blazing column of fire. They wondered what it could be and started in competition with each other to find out its source. Brahma flew up as a swan and Vishnu started to burrow down in the form of a boar. But the search was endless. Vishnu came up again admitting his defeat. On his way Brahma caught a flower that was falling and taking it down to Vishnu pretended that he had reached the top and had there picked this flower. Suddenly Lord Siva, who had taken the form of the column of fire, appeared to them. He condemned Brahma for his deceit and said that as a punishment he should have no temple dedicated to his honour. As a reward for his honesty Vishnu was told that he should receive universal worship.
Striving to reach the end of the column of fire signifies the search in the Heart for the realization of the Self and all the difficulties thus entailed.
Bhagavan said in explanation that the ‘I’-sense was Vishnu and the intellect Brahma, they both turned outward and that is where they failed.
Sri Bhagavan wrote: -
To make the intellect rid of the sense
‘I am the body’, and to introspect
By fixing it securely in the Heart,
And so perceive the true light of the SELF,
The one ‘I-I’, which is the ABSOLUTE,
This the significance of witnessing
The Beacon Light of Arunachala,
The centre of the earth.
Bhagavan used to declare that Arunachala was the spiritual axis of the earth. So definite was he that he once made someone get an atlas and see if there was not some other mountain, the other end of the axis, corresponding to this Hill on the other side of the world.
SELF is the centre, e’en the Heart it is
That thus reveals itself, while intellect
And ego both bewail.
This the true meaning of Annamalai,
Amidst Brahma and Vishnu blazing bright,
Who languish because they don’t know the way
To realize Him.
The Hill Arunachala is identified with the spiritual heart of creation of God. This appeared to the Gods, Brahma and Vishnu as a blazing column of fire. They wondered what it could be and started in competition with each other to find out its source. Brahma flew up as a swan and Vishnu started to burrow down in the form of a boar. But the search was endless. Vishnu came up again admitting his defeat. On his way Brahma caught a flower that was falling and taking it down to Vishnu pretended that he had reached the top and had there picked this flower. Suddenly Lord Siva, who had taken the form of the column of fire, appeared to them. He condemned Brahma for his deceit and said that as a punishment he should have no temple dedicated to his honour. As a reward for his honesty Vishnu was told that he should receive universal worship.
Striving to reach the end of the column of fire signifies the search in the Heart for the realization of the Self and all the difficulties thus entailed.
Bhagavan said in explanation that the ‘I’-sense was Vishnu and the intellect Brahma, they both turned outward and that is where they failed.
The Significance of the Beacon
Sri Bhagavan wrote: -
To make the intellect rid of the sense
‘I am the body’, and to introspect
By fixing it securely in the Heart,
And so perceive the true light of the SELF,
The one ‘I-I’, which is the ABSOLUTE,
This the significance of witnessing
The Beacon Light of Arunachala,
The centre of the earth.
Bhagavan used to declare that Arunachala was the spiritual axis of the earth. So definite was he that he once made someone get an atlas and see if there was not some other mountain, the other end of the axis, corresponding to this Hill on the other side of the world.
A beautiful post... thank you for sharing ~ OM
ReplyDeleteThe other Mountain is Machu Picchu.
ReplyDelete